This is the result, really, of elevating the Companions to a degree where they steal the show. NuWho isn't about the Doctor, it's about his young Companions and all of their family issues and reactions to their changing lives.

And that's the heart of NuWho's problem right there -- the characters we're forced to bond with are the traditionally (and still) reactive Companions. The Doctor is simply a foil for them. But their whole nature remains to be the people who ask the questions for the audience and help the story move along. It's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead syndrome, except not well done. Or maybe like making a show called Superman and then focusing solely on Jimmy Olson.

In Classic Who companions would just get written off. They'd go back to their lives, having had this nice little adventure. But NuWho has no idea how to send Companions home. That's the weirdest part: Rose had to get lost in an alternate dimension, Martha's life is ruined and she becomes a pseudo-Doctor type in UNIT, Donna's memory is erased and if she does remember she'll die, Amy "dies" but also lives happily ever after, ditto Clara...

This is also a part of the "Lonely God" motif of NuWho -- another major problem.

We should be focused on the Doctor. But the Doctor has become such a flat character. They stripped Eccleston's Doctor so bare he quit in a huff. Tennant did make the role his, but then Smith seemed to get a memo telling him to steer the course... And Capaldi's been the same. A certain subset of fans were really happy to see an older, alien, brooding Doctor in the role, but we didn't actually get an older, alien, brooding Doctor. We got a Smith/Tennant mash-up who briefly wore Classic Doctor Who clothes before switching to a hoodie.

Been announce casting call for a new doctor and they're looking for a "male in his mid thirties." The Internet is in fire.

I think it's misdirection.

At this point, the new Doctor is decided on. Especially if it's happening sooner -- but still true if it's happening at Christmas. They'll be filming the Christmas special in a few months, and they'll probably announce the new Doctor at the end of the season (June). And they don't do last minute with this show (assuming it's a peaceful transition with the actor -- something that didn't quite happen with the 6th-7th Doctors and the 9th-10th). Capaldi knew for the better part of a year before his announcement, as did Smith.

Doctor Who bosses set their sights ‘on a male actor in this thirties’ to play the next Time Lord

TDRRUMOURS have been swirling for weeks about who will take over from Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who but it definitely won’t be a woman according to new reports.

There had been reports that the next Doctor could be a woman with the likes of Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge all being linked to the role.

However, hopes of a woman Doctor have been dashed as The Mirror reports that the BBC want to bring the show back to the “glory days” of David Tennant and cast a “male actor in his thirties” to take over from Peter.

A source said: “A lot of younger fans have been lost in the last few years, especially young females and the gay male audience.

“The revenue from merchandising has nose-dived and they want to rectify this by casting someone in the mould of David Tennant .”

Meanwhile, The Sun exclusively revealed that the new Doctor Who sidekick Pearl Mackie had been axed after just one series.

A new trailer for the upcoming tenth series of the show included a soul-sucking soldier, terrifying aliens and a new assistant but will the Doctor make it to the end of the series?

Peter announced his last episode would air on Christmas day 2017 but the trailer hints the regeneration might happen sooner than expected.

With 12 episodes planned, the series finale is due to air at the beginning of July, months before the Christmas special where historically the character regenerates.

The tell-tale signs come right at the end of the trailer where the Doctor can be seen clutching his chest in pain, as the golden regeneration energy covers him.

However, fans are sure to speculate that this is a red herring and it wouldn’t be the first time that Dr. Who showrunners have added a fake regeneration to keep the audiences gripped.

Back in 2008 when it had already been announced that David Tennant was to leave the show, an episode midway through the series had Tennant’s Doctor regenerate back into himself.

The Pilot was not bad. Pearl Mackie is refreshingly old school, as was the story. It was mainly an intro to Mackie's new companion... But as a quiet little standalone episode, it was fine. And we got our Daleks out of the way for this season, so that was nice.

Meanwhile, rumors are flying that (a) Kris Marshall (terrible pick) is the new Doctor and (b) Capaldi is leaving the show very soon.

Capaldi has confirmed that he filmed his regeneration scene, so we may indeed be in for a spring surprise.

(Nacho theory: The Doctor does regenerate sooner than expected and much of this -- 2nd Doctor era monsters and John Simm's Master -- are flashbacks. We get these Jacob's Ladder style flashbacks for most of the season, and they may already be happening, which is why Pearl Mackie is also leaving this season -- i.e., she doesn't exist.))

You know, that was a fascinating realization when I was at AWP last year. It was like living inside the Beltway except there truly was nothing outside the Beltway. So it's all like, hey, new sushi place. Hey, they're cleaning the Hollywood sign. And I was like, hey, it's almost election time! And the reply was: Huh? E-lect....? What?